A looming threat of a trade war between the US and Colombia has finally been averted following an agreement between the two states that allows the US military planes carrying deported migrants to land in Colombia. A standoff started when President Gustavo Petro banned two military aircraft transporting Colombians who were deported from the US, threats of punitive tariffs against Colombian exports having been issued by the Trump administration.
First, Petro threatened to retaliate with tariffs on US goods, but things changed when the White House said Colombia would take migrants—eventually including those on military aircraft—without restrictions. For the White House, the agreement marked a major victory for some of the toughest immigration policies from Trump.
The conflict quickly escalated on social media, as Petro expressed his discontent at the treatment of Colombian migrants, underlining that he would not allow Colombians to be returned in handcuffs-alluding to disturbing reports about deportees being restrained during flights.
Historically, Colombia has accepted deportation flights from the US, but the administration of Petro had objected to military flights, citing concerns over the treatment of migrants. In a bid to ease tensions, Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo announced that Colombia would accept its returned citizens, although he did not directly address the specifics of the White House’s announcement.
At the same time, the US said it would not lift visa restrictions on Colombian officials until the arrival of the first deportation flight in Colombia, adding that Colombians reaching US airports would be put under closer scrutiny.
The dispute represents a low in relations between the two nations, which traditionally cooperate in combatting drug trafficking. The tariffs threatened by both sides could have hurt producers in Colombia and consumers in the US, where trade between the two nations reached $53.5 billion in 2022.
